System and method for radiation therapy and immobilizing device thereof

ABSTRACT

A radiation therapy system may be provided. The system may include a therapeutic apparatus. The therapeutic apparatus may include a radiation source for directing therapeutic radiation to at least one portion of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, and an immobilizing device for immobilizing the subject. The system may obtain characteristics information of the subject. The system may preheat the immobilizing device according to a predictive model that processes the characteristics information of the subject. The system may send a control signal to the therapeutic apparatus for applying the therapeutic radiation to the at least one portion of the ROI immobilized by the preheated immobilizing device when the immobilizing device is preheated to a certain temperature.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of Interactional Application No.PCT/CN2019/111745, filed on Oct. 17, 2019, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a radiation therapy system,and more particularly, relates to an image-guided radiation therapysystem including a heated immobilizing device.

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, a radiation therapy is an effective means for diagnosing andtreating a tumor. A radiation therapy system/apparatus, such as animage-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) system, may be used to perform theradiation therapy. In some cases, one or more components of theradiation therapy apparatus (e.g., a linear accelerator) may worknormally at a relatively low-temperature in low-humidity environment.Thus, the temperature in a treatment room may be at about 20 degreesCelsius, even much lower. The low-temperature is not a friendlyenvironment for the patients to receive radiation therapy, as most ofthose patients have tumors and are weak. Moreover, during the treatmenttime that the patients receive the radiation therapy, they usually haveto take off their clothes and lie on an immobilizing device (e.g., avacuum cushion) in order to be secured. The patients may feel cold anduncomfortable in the low-temperature treatment environment for a longtreatment time. Some patients may tremble due to the low temperature. Asa result, the radiation therapy apparatus may not accurately shoottherapeutic radiation to a treatment region (e.g., the tumor region),rendering a poor therapeutic effect. Therefore, it is desirable toprovide a radiation therapy system having a high therapeutic qualitywith a comfortable treatment environment as well.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a radiation therapy (RT)system is provided. The RT system may include a therapeutic apparatus,at least one storage device storing executable instructions, and atleast one processing device in communication with the therapeuticapparatus and the at least one storage device. The therapeutic apparatusmay include a radiation source for directing therapeutic radiation to atleast one portion of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, and animmobilizing device for immobilizing the subject. When executing theexecutable instructions, the at least one processing device may causethe system to perform one or more operations as following. The systemmay obtain characteristics information of the subject. The system maypreheat the immobilizing device according to a predictive model thatprocesses the characteristics information of the subject. The system maysend a control signal to the therapeutic apparatus for applying thetherapeutic radiation to the at least one portion of the ROI immobilizedby the preheated immobilizing device when the immobilizing device ispreheated to a certain temperature.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic apparatus may further include asupporting platform, and the preheated immobilizing device may beoperably connected to the supporting platform.

In some embodiments, the immobilizing device may include a vacuumcushion. The vacuum cushion may include a shell installed with a valvethat is connectable to a vacuum source, a heating element attached to aninner side of the shell, an electrical circuit electrically connected tothe heating element and a filler material contained within a regiondefined by the shell. The electrical circuit may supply a heatingvoltage to the heating element for preheating the vacuum cushion.

In some embodiments, the heating element may include a flexible heatingfilm that does not interfere a radiation dose that the subject receives.

In some embodiments, the flexible heating film may include a Carbonfiber heating film.

In some embodiments, the flexible heating film may include a Grapheneheating film.

In some embodiments, the immobilizing device may further include atemperature sensor for detecting a heating temperature of the vacuumcushion.

In some embodiments, the electrical circuit may be connected to atemperature controller for control of the heating temperature of thevacuum cushion. The temperature controller may have a temperature memoryfunction for recording a previously configured preferable temperaturefor the subject, and directly configure the recorded preferabletemperature as the heating temperature of the vacuum cushion.

In some embodiments, the system may generate, based on historicalpreheating data of the immobilizing devices corresponding to a pluralityof subjects and the characteristics of the plurality of subjects, thepredictive model by training an initial model.

In some embodiments, the system may obtain, from a database, a set oftraining data. The set of training data may include labeled historicalpreheating data of the immobilizing components corresponding to aplurality of subjects and the characteristics of the plurality ofsubjects. The system may train the initial model based on the trainingdata. The training may include updating parameters of the initial modelby minimizing a loss function of the initial model and determining thepredictive model if the value of the loss function is less than or equalto a threshold.

In some embodiments, the predictive model may include a convolutionalneural network (CNN) model.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic apparatus may further include animaging device configured to acquire image data with respect to the ROI.

In some embodiments, the system may reconstruct an image regarding theat least one portion of the ROI based on the acquired image data. Thesystem may determine a parameter associated with a size of the at leastone portion of the ROI based on the reconstructed image. The system maygenerate the control signal according to the parameter associated withthe size of the at the at least one portion of the ROI.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a therapeutic apparatus isprovided. The therapeutic apparatus may include an imaging deviceconfigured to acquire image data with respect to a region of interest(ROI) of a subject, a radiation therapy device configured to applytherapeutic radiation to at least one portion of the ROI in response toa control signal, and an immobilizing device configured to immobilizethe at least one portion of the ROI. The immobilizing device may bepreheated to a certain temperature before the therapeutic radiation.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, an immobilizing device isprovided. The immobilizing device may include a vacuum cushion. Thevacuum cushion may include a shell installed with a valve that isconnectable to a vacuum source, a heating element attached to an innerside of the shell, an electrical circuit electrically connected to theheating element and a filler material contained within a region definedby the shell. The electrical circuit may supply a heating voltage to theheating element for preheating the vacuum cushion.

Additional features will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or maybe learned by production or operation of the examples. The features ofthe present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice or useof various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities, andcombinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplaryembodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail withreference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplaryembodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similarstructures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary radiationtherapy system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary therapeutic apparatus according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B illustrates another exemplary therapeutic apparatus according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or softwarecomponents of an exemplary computing device on which the processingdevice may be implemented according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary immobilizingdevice according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an exemplaryimmobilizing device according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for applying atherapeutic radiation in a radiation therapy system according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for generating acontrol signal for applying an therapeutic radiation in a radiationtherapy system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for generating apredictive model according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary convolutionalneural network (CNN) model according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the present disclosure, and is provided in thecontext of a particular application and its requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments and applications without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and/or“including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of the present disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings arenot to scale.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are provided as aradiation therapy system configured to apply therapeutic radiation to atleast one portion of region of interest (ROI) of a subject accurately ina comfortable treating environment. In some embodiments, the radiationtherapy system may include a therapeutic apparatus for applying thetherapeutic radiation. The therapeutic apparatus may include a heatableimmobilizing device (e.g., a vacuum cushion) for providing suitabletemperature for the subject during the radiation therapy treatment. Insome embodiments, the heatable immobilizing device may be preheated by apreheating system before the radiation therapy treatment. In someembodiments, the preheating system or the therapeutic radiation may bepreheated according to a predictive model (e.g., a trained CNN model).The predictive model may be used to determine a recommended preheatingtemperature. In some embodiments, a user (e.g., the subject or atechnician) may configure a preferable preheating temperature for thesubject through a temperature controller of the immobilizing device. Theimmobilizing device may be preheated to the configured preheatingtemperature. The heated immobilizing device may be disposed on atreatment table of the therapeutic apparatus. The subject may feel warmand comfortable when the subject lies on the heated immobilizing deviceduring the radiation therapy treatment. In some cases, the body tremblecaused by the low temperature may be avoided, and the therapeuticradiation may be accurately applied as well.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary radiationtherapy system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.In some embodiments, radiation therapy system 100 may be amulti-modality medical imaging system including, for example, animage-guide radiotherapy (IGRT) system (e.g., a positron emissiontomography-radiotherapy (PET-RT) system, a magnetic resonanceimaging-radiotherapy (MRI-RT) system, etc.) For better understanding thepresent disclosure, an MRI-RT system may be described as an example ofthe radiation therapy system 100, and not intended to limit the scope ofthe present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the radiation therapy system 100 may include atherapeutic apparatus 110, a processing device 120, a network 130, astorage device 140, and one or more terminal devices 150. In someembodiments, the radiation therapy system 100 may further include asystem 160 for preheating one or more immobilizing devices (e.g., animmobilizing device 160-1) used by one or more subjects (e.g.,patients). Each subject may have his/her own immobilizing device. Insome embodiments, the immobilizing device may be configured to suit thesubject's needs (e.g., the subject's therapeutic apparatus orcorresponding treatment plan). Hereinafter the system 160 is referred toas the preheating system 160. In some embodiments, the therapeuticapparatus 110, the processing device 120, the storage device 140, theterminal device 150 and/or the preheating system 160 may be connected toand/or communicate with each other via a wireless connection (e.g., thewireless connection provided by the network 130), a wired connection(e.g., the wired connection provided by the network 130), or anycombination thereof.

The therapeutic apparatus 110 may include an imaging component (or animaging device). For example, the imaging component may include a PETscanner, a CT scanner, an MRI scanner, or the like, or any combinationthereof. Taking the MRI scanner as an example, the MRI scanner maygenerate image data associated with magnetic resonance signals(hereinafter referred to as “MRI signals”) via scanning a subject or apart of the subject. As used herein, a subject may correspond to a user,a patient, or an object. In some embodiments, the subject may include abody, a substance, an object, or the like, or any combination thereof.In some embodiments, the subject may include a specific portion of abody, a specific organ, or a specific tissue, such as head, brain, neck,body, shoulder, arm, thorax, heart, stomach, blood vessel, soft tissue,knee, feet, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the therapeutic apparatus 110 may transmit the image datavia the network 130 to the processing device 120, the storage device140, and/or the terminal device 150 for further processing. For example,the image data may be sent to the processing device 120 for generatingan MRI image, or may be stored in the storage device 140.

The therapeutic apparatus 110 may also include a radiation therapycomponent (hereinafter referred to as “radiation therapy device”). Theradiation therapy device may provide radiation for target region (e.g.,a tumor) treatment. The radiation used herein may include a particleray, a photon ray, etc. The particle ray may include neutron, proton,electron, p-meson, heavy ion, α-ray, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The photon ray may include X-ray, γ-ray, ultraviolet, laser, orthe like, or any combination thereof. For illustration purposes, aradiation therapy device associated with X-ray may be described as anexample. In some embodiments, the therapeutic apparatus 110 may generatea certain dose of X-rays to perform radiotherapy under the assistance ofthe image data provided by the imaging device, such as the MRI scanner.For example, the image data may be processed to locate a tumor and/ordetermine the dose of X-rays.

The processing device 120 may process data and/or information obtainedfrom the therapeutic apparatus 110, the storage device 140, the terminaldevice 150, and/or the preheating system 160. For example, theprocessing device 120 may process image data and reconstruct at leastone MRI image based on the image data. As another example, theprocessing device 120 may determine the position of the treatment regionand the dose of radiation based on the at least one MRI image. The MRIimage may provide advantages including, for example, superiorsoft-tissue contrast, high resolution, geometric accuracy, which mayallow accurate positioning of the treatment region. The MRI image may beused to detect a change of the treatment region (e.g., a tumorregression or metastasis) between when the treatment plan is determinedand when the treatment is carried out, such that an original treatmentplan may be adjusted accordingly. The original treatment plan may bedetermined before the treatment commences. For instance, the originaltreatment plan may be determined at least one day, or three days, or aweek, or two weeks, or a month, etc., before the treatment commences.

In the original or adjusted treatment plan, the dose of radiation may bedetermined according to, for example, synthetic electron densityinformation. In some embodiments, the synthetic electron densityinformation may be generated based on the generated image (e.g., the MRIimage).

In some embodiments, the processing device 120 may be a singleprocessing device that communicates with and process data from theimaging device (e.g., the MRI device) and/or the radiation therapydevice of the therapeutic apparatus 110. Alternatively, the processingdevice 120 may include at least two processing devices. One of the atleast two processing devices may communicate with and process data fromthe imaging device of the therapeutic apparatus 110, and another one ofthe at least two processing devices may communicate with and processdata from the radiation therapy device of the therapeutic apparatus 110.In some embodiments, the processing device 120 may include a treatmentplanning system. The at least two processing devices may communicatewith each other. In some embodiments, the processing device 120 may beused to perform one or more preheating operations for the immobilizingdevice through the preheating system 160 or the therapeutic apparatus110.

In some embodiments, the processing device 120 may be a single server ora server group. The server group may be centralized or distributed. Insome embodiments, the processing device 120 may be local to or remotefrom the therapeutic apparatus 110. For example, the processing device120 may access information and/or data from the therapeutic apparatus110, the storage device 140, the terminal device 150 and/or thepreheating system 160 via the network 130. As another example, theprocessing device 120 may be directly connected to the therapeuticapparatus 110 as illustrated by the bidirectional arrow in dotted linesconnection the processing device 120 and the therapeutic apparatus 110in FIG. 1, the terminal device 150 as illustrated by the bidirectionalarrow in dotted lines connection the processing device 120 and theterminal device 150 in FIG. 1, the storage device 140 and/or thepreheating system 160 to access information and/or data. In someembodiments, the processing device 120 may be implemented on a cloudplatform. The cloud platform may include a private cloud, a publiccloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, aninter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The network 130 may include any suitable network that can facilitate theexchange of information and/or data for the radiation therapy system100. In some embodiments, one or more components of the radiationtherapy system 100 (e.g., the therapeutic apparatus 110, the processingdevice 120, the storage device 140, the terminal device 150, or thepreheating system 160) may communicate information and/or data with oneor more other components of the radiation therapy system 100 via thenetwork 130. For example, the processing device 120 may obtain imagedata from the therapeutic apparatus 110 via the network 130. As anotherexample, the processing device 120 may obtain user instructions from theterminal device 150 via the network 130. The network 130 may include apublic network (e.g., the Internet), a private network (e.g., a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN)), a wired network (e.g.,an Ethernet network), a wireless network (e.g., an 802.11 network, aWi-Fi network), a cellular network (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE)network), a frame relay network, a virtual private network (“VPN”), asatellite network, a telephone network, routers, hubs, switches, servercomputers, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,the network 130 may include one or more network access points. Forexample, the network 130 may include wired and/or wireless networkaccess points such as base stations and/or internet exchange pointsthrough which one or more components of the radiation therapy system 100may be connected to the network 130 to exchange data and/or information.

The storage device 140 may store data, instructions, and/or any otherinformation. In some embodiments, the storage device 140 may store dataobtained from the processing device 120 and/or the terminal device 150.In some embodiments, the storage device 140 may store data and/orinstructions that the processing device 120 may execute or use toperform exemplary methods described in the present disclosure. In someembodiments, the storage device 140 may include a mass storage device, aremovable storage device, a cloud based storage device, a volatileread-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like, or anycombination thereof. Exemplary mass storage may include a magnetic disk,an optical disk, a solid-state drive, etc. Exemplary removable storagemay include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memorycard, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. Exemplary volatileread-and-write memory may include a random access memory (RAM).Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date ratesynchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristorRAM (T-RAM), a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. Exemplary ROM mayinclude a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk ROM,etc. In some embodiments, the storage device 140 may be implemented on acloud platform as described elsewhere in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the storage device 140 may be connected to thenetwork 130 to communicate with one or more other components of theradiation therapy system 100 (e.g., the processing device 120 or theterminal device 150). One or more components of the radiation therapysystem 100 may access the data or instructions stored in the storagedevice 140 via the network 130. In some embodiments, the storage device140 may be part of the processing device 120.

The terminal device 150 may be connected to and/or communicate with thetherapeutic apparatus 110, the processing device 120, the storage device140, and/or the preheating system 160. For example, the processingdevice 120 may acquire a scanning protocol from the terminal device 150.As another example, the terminal device 150 may obtain image data fromthe therapeutic apparatus 110 and/or the storage device 140. As afurther example, the terminal device 150 may send a preheating requestto the preheating system 160. In some embodiments, the terminal device150 may include a mobile device 151, a tablet computer 152, a laptopcomputer 153, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, themobile device 151 may include a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistance (PDA), a gaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale(POS) device, a laptop, a tablet computer, a desktop, or the like, orany combination thereof. In some embodiments, the terminal device 150may include an input device, an output device, etc. The input device mayinclude alphanumeric and other keys that may be input via a keyboard, atouch screen (for example, with haptics or tactile feedback), a speechinput, an eye tracking input, a brain monitoring system, or any othercomparable input mechanism. The input information received through theinput device may be transmitted to the processing device 120 via, forexample, a bus, for further processing. Other types of the input devicemay include a cursor control device, such as a mouse, a trackball, orcursor direction keys, etc. The output device may include a display, aspeaker, a printer, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the terminal device 150 may be part of the processingdevice 120.

The preheating system 160 may be configured to preheat one or moreimmobilizing devices (e.g., the immobilizing device 160-1) correspond toone or more subjects to be treated. The immobilizing device mayone-to-one correspond to the subject. The immobilizing device may be aheatable immobilizing device, for example, a vacuum cushion with aheating function. The immobilizing device may be used to position orimmobilize a subject or placed at a part of a subject for the treatmentor the medical imaging. More descriptions of the immobilizing device maybe found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIGS. 5A-5B, and thedescriptions thereof.). The immobilizing device may be preheated to asuitable temperature for the subject, such as 25 degrees Celsius. Duringthe treatment, when the subject (e.g., a patient) lies on the top of thepreheated immobilizing device, he/she will feel comfortable in arelatively low-temperature treatment environment. In some embodiments,the preheating system 160 may provide a plurality of heating interfacesfor electrically heating the immobilizing device (e.g., a heating filminside the immobilizing device). For example, the heating interface mayinclude a socket, a plug, a wireless charging interface, or the like, orany combination thereof. The heating interface may be electricallyconnected to a power generator or a power source.

In some embodiments, the preheating system 160 may preheat theimmobilizing device in response to a request for heating theimmobilizing device in advance from a subject (or a user). As usedherein, the request for heating or preheating the immobilizing devicemay be referred to as the preheating request or the heating request. Theterms “preheating” and “heating” are intended to increase a temperature,and they are used interchangeably in the present disclosure. In somecases, available therapeutic apparatuses in a hospital may be not enoughfor a huge number of patients at the same time. It may take much timefor the patients to wait for the radiation therapy treatment, forexample, queue up for the treatment. Moreover, the preheating of theirown immobilizing device may cost a certain time. The whole treatmenttime may be prolonged, resulting in a poor treatment experience and alow treatment effect. In some embodiments, the preheating system 160 maybe designed to resolve the issue described above. For example, thepreheating system 160 may be used to preheat the immobilizing devices inadvance in response to the preheating requests from the patients. Theymay not need to queue up to preheat the immobilizing devices. When it ishis/her turn to receive the radiation therapy treatment, the technicianmay mount the preheated immobilizing device to the therapeutic apparatusdirectly. The treatment time for the patient may be shortened, and thetreatment efficiency may be improved to some extents.

Merely for illustration, a subject may send a preheating request to thepreheating system 160 via an application installed in the mobile device150-1. Upon receipt of the preheating request, the preheating system 160may preheat the immobilizing device of the patient. In some embodiments,the immobilizing device may be electrically connected to the preheatingsystem 160 before the preheating. In some embodiments, the preheatingsystem 160 may preheat the immobilizing device according to one or morepreheating parameters from the processing device 120. The preheatingparameters may include a heating temperature, a preheating start time, apreheating end time, a heating electrical voltage, a heating electricalcurrent, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,the one or more preheating parameters may be configured by a temperaturecontroller (e.g., a temperature controller 530 shown in FIG. 5A). Insome embodiments, the one or more preheating parameters may bedetermined based on a predictive model. For example, the predictivemodel may be invoked by the preheating system 160, and output arecommended heating temperature for the subject. The recommended heatingtemperature may be a preferable temperature for the subject.

In some embodiments, the preheating system 160 may be connected toand/or communicate with the therapeutic apparatus 110, the processingdevices 120, the storage device 140, and/or the terminal device 150. Forexample, the preheating system 160 may preheat the immobilizing devicein response to one or more commands from the processing device 120. Theone or more commands may include the one or more preheating parametersdetermined by the processing device 120. As another example, thepreheating system 160 may receive one or more preheating requests sentby the terminal device(s) 150. The preheating request may includecharacteristics information of the subject, an identifier regarding theimmobilizing device, and so on. In some embodiments, the preheatingsystem 160 may be separated from the therapeutic apparatus 110. Forexample, one or more components of the preheating system 160 (e.g., theheating interfaces, or the power source) may be arranged in a singleroom separated from the treatment room where the therapeutic apparatus110 is. In some embodiments, the preheating system 160 may be integratedto the therapeutic apparatus 110. In other words, the immobilizingdevice may be directly preheated by the therapeutic apparatus 110. Insome embodiments, the therapeutic apparatus 110 may include one or morecomponents for preheating the immobilizing device.

This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit thescope of the present disclosure. Many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features,structures, methods, and characteristics of the exemplary embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additionaland/or alternative exemplary embodiments. For example, the storagedevice 140 may be a data storage including cloud computing platforms,such as public cloud, private cloud, community, hybrid clouds, etc. Asanother example, the processing device 120 may be integrated into thetherapeutic apparatus 110, or the preheating system 160. However, thosevariations and modifications do not depart the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary therapeutic apparatus according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 3A,therapeutic apparatus 110 may include an imaging device 210, a radiationtherapy device 200, and a treatment table 230. Merely for illustration,the imaging device 210 may be an MRI scanner. In some embodiments, theMRI scanner 210 may generate MRI data, and the radiation therapy device200 may apply the therapeutic radiation to at least one portion of asubject immobilized by the preheated immobilizing component when theimmobilizing device is preheated to a certain temperature. In someembodiments, the certain temperature may be a recommended heatingtemperature output by a predictive model. In some embodiments, thecertain temperature may be a specified temperature set by a user (e.g.,a doctor, a patient, etc.). In some embodiments, the specifiedtemperature may be equal to the recommended heating temperature. In someembodiments, the specified temperature may be different from therecommended heating temperature, for example, lower than the recommendedheating temperature. In such case, the radiation therapy device 200 maybe configured to prepare a preliminary workflow (e.g., parameterssetting for radiation therapy) before the immobilizing component ispreheated to the recommended heating temperature. The time of the entireradiation therapy may be shortened to some extent.

The MRI scanner 210 may include a bore 201, a magnetic body 202, one ormore gradient coils (not shown), and one or more radiofrequency (RF)coils (not shown). The MRI scanner 210 may be configured to acquireimage data from an imaging region. For example, the image data mayrelate to the treatment region associated with a lesion (e.g., a tumor).In some embodiments, the MRI scanner 210 may be a permanent magnet MRIscanner, a superconducting electromagnet MRI scanner, or a resistiveelectromagnet MRI scanner, etc., according to the types of the magneticbody 202. In some embodiments, the MRI scanner 210 may be a high-fieldMRI scanner, a mid-field MRI scanner, and a low-field MRI scanner, etc.,according to the intensity of the magnetic field. In some embodiments,the MRI scanner 210 may be of a closed-bore (cylindrical) type, anopen-bore type, or the like.

The magnetic body 202 may have the shape of an annulus and may generatea static magnetic field BO. The magnetic body 202 may be of varioustypes including, for example, a permanent magnet, a superconductingelectromagnet, a resistive electromagnet, etc. The superconductingelectromagnet may include niobium, vanadium, technetium alloy, etc.

The one or more gradient coils may generate magnetic field gradients tothe main magnetic field BO in the X, Y, and/or Z directions (or axes).In some embodiments, the one or more gradient coils may include anX-direction (or axis) coil, a Y-direction (or axis) coil, a Z-direction(or axis) coil, etc. For example, the Z-direction coil may be designedbased on a circular (Maxwell) coil, the X-direction coil and theY-direction coil may be designed on the basis of the saddle (Golay) coilconfiguration. As used herein, the X direction may also be referred toas the readout (RO) direction (or a frequency encoding direction), the Ydirection may also be referred to as the phase encoding (PE) direction,the Z direction may also be referred to as the slice-selection encodingdirection. In the present disclosure, the readout direction and thefrequency encoding direction may be used interchangeably.

Merely by way of example, the gradient magnetic fields may include aslice-selection gradient field corresponding to the Z-direction, a phaseencoding (PE) gradient field corresponding to the Y-direction, a readout(RO) gradient field corresponding to the X-direction, etc. The gradientmagnetic fields in different directions may be used to encode thespatial information of MR signals. In some embodiments, the gradientmagnetic fields may also be used to perform at least one function offlow encoding, flow compensation, flow dephasing, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

The one or more RF coils may emit RF pulses to and/or receive MR signalsfrom a subject (e.g., a body, a substance, an object) being examined. Asused herein, an RF pulse may include an excitation RF pulse and arefocusing RF pulse. In some embodiments, the excitation RF pulse (e.g.,a 90-degree RF pulse) may tip magnetization vector away from thedirection of the main magnetic field BO. In some embodiments, therefocusing pulse (e.g., a 180-degree RF pulse) may rotate dispersingspin isochromatic about an axis in the transverse plane so thatmagnetization vector may rephase at a later time. In some embodiments,the RF coil may include an RF transmitting coil and an RF receivingcoil. The RF transmitting coil may emit RF pulse signals that may excitethe nucleus in the subject to resonate at the Larmor frequency. The RFreceiving coil may receive MR signals emitted from the subject. In someembodiments, the RF transmitting coil and RF receiving coil may beintegrated into one single coil, for example, a transmitting/receivingcoil. The RF coil may be one of various types including, for example, aquotient difference (QD) orthogonal coil, a phase-array coil, etc. Insome embodiments, different RF coils 240 may be used for the scanning ofdifferent parts of a body being examined, for example, a head coil, aknee joint coil, a cervical vertebra coil, a thoracic vertebra coil, atemporomandibular joint (TMJ) coil, etc. In some embodiments, accordingto its function and/or size, the RF coil may be classified as a volumecoil and a local coil. For example, the volume coil may include abirdcage coil, a transverse electromagnetic coil, a surface coil, etc.As another example, the local coil may include a solenoid coil, a saddlecoil, a flexible coil, etc.

The radiation therapy device 200 may include a drum 212 and a pedestal207. The drum 212 may have the shape of an annulus. The drum 212 may bedisposed around the magnetic body 202 and intersect the magnetic body202 at a central region of the magnetic body 202 along the axis 211 ofthe bore 201. The drum 212 may accommodate and support a radiationsource that is configured to emit a radiation beam towards the treatmentregion in the bore 201. The radiation beam may be an X-ray beam, anelectron beam, a gamma ray source, a proton ray source, etc. The drum212, together with the radiation source mounted thereon, may be able torotate around the axis 211 of the bore 201 and/or a point called theisocenter. Merely by way of example, the drum 212, together with theradiation source mounted thereon, may be able to rotate any angle, e.g.,90 degrees, 180 degrees, 360 degrees, 450 degrees, 540 degrees, aroundthe axis 211. The drum 212 may be further supported by the pedestal 207.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations or modification may be made under the teaching ofthe present disclosure. For example, the radiation therapy device 200may further include a linear accelerator configured to accelerateelectrons, ions, or protons, a dose detecting device, a temperaturecontrolling device (e.g., a cooling device), a multiple layercollimator, or the like, or any combination thereof. However, thosevariations and modifications do not depart from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The treatment table 230 may include a supporting platform 208 and a baseframe 209. In some embodiments, the supporting platform 208 may movealong the horizontal direction and enter into the bore 201 of the MRIscanner 210. In some embodiments, the supporting platform 208 may movetwo-dimensionally, or three-dimensionally. In some embodiments, thesupporting platform 208 may move to compensate the variance (e.g.,position change) of the tumor estimated by, for example, a real-time MRIimage obtained during a treatment.

In some embodiments, the subject may be placed on the supportingplatform 208 and sent into the MRI device. In some embodiments, thesubject may be a human patient. The human patient may lie on the back,lie in prone, lie on the side on the supporting platform 208. In someembodiments, the subject may be positioned or immobilized by animmobilizing device connected to the supporting platform 208 (e.g., viaa mechanical connection). For example, the immobilizing device may besecured on the supporting platform 208, and the subject may be placed onthe immobilizing device. The immobilizing device may be configured toimmobilize at least a portion of the subject. The immobilizing devicemay include, for example, a vacuum cushion. In some embodiments, theimmobilizing device may be a heatable immobilizing device (e.g., animmobilizing device 500 shown in FIG. 5A). The immobilizing device maybe preheated to a preferable temperature for the subject by thepreheating system 160 or the therapeutic apparatus 110 directly. Forexample, the preferable temperature may be configured directly by atemperature controller 530 shown in FIG. 5A. As another example, thepreferable temperature may be determined according to a predictive model(e.g., a trained CNN model). During the radiation therapy treatment,although the treatment environment is at a relatively low temperature,the subject would feel warm and comfortable due to the preheatedimmobilizing device.

During the radiation therapy treatment, the drum 212 may be set torotate around the magnetic body 202. In some embodiments, the magneticbody 202 may include a recess (not shown) at its outer wall. The recessmay be disposed around the entire circumference of the magnetic body202. For example, the recess may have the shape of an annulussurrounding the magnetic body 202, thus accommodating at least part ofthe drum 212. In some embodiments, the recess may be disposed aroundpart of the circumference of the magnetic body 202. For example, therecess may have the shape of one or more arcs around the magnetic body202.

In some embodiments, the radiation source may move along an entire pathof rotation within the recess. The radiation source may generate theradiation beam according to one or more parameters. Exemplary parametermay include a parameter of the radiation beam, a parameter of theradiation source, or a parameter of the supporting platform 208. Forexample, the parameter of the radiation beam may include an irradiatingintensity, an irradiating angle, an irradiating distance, an irradiatingarea, an irradiating time, an intensity distribution, or the like, orany combination thereof. The parameter of the radiation source mayinclude a position, a rotating angle, a rotating speed, a rotatingdirection, the configuration of the radiation source, or the like, orany combination thereof. In some embodiments, the generation of theradiation beam by the radiation source may take into considerationenergy loss of the radiation beam due to, e.g., the magnetic body 202located in the pathway of the radiation beam that may absorb at least aportion of the radiation beam. For example, the irradiating intensity ofthe radiation beam may be set larger than that in the situation in whichthere is no energy loss due to, e.g., the absorption by the magneticbody 202 accordingly to compensate the energy loss such that theradiation beam of a specific intensity may impinge on a treatment region(e.g., a tumor).

FIG. 2B illustrates another exemplary therapeutic apparatus 110′according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Compared withthe therapeutic apparatus 110 described in FIG. 2A, the therapeuticapparatus 110′ may use a gantry 206 instead of the drum 212. The gantry206 may be disposed at one side of the magnetic body 202. A treatmenthead 204 may be installed on the gantry 206 via a treatment arm 205. Thetreatment head 204 may accommodate the radiation source. The gantry 206may be able to rotate the treatment head 204 around the axis 211 of thebore 201.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a recess 203 may be formed at the outer wall of themagnetic body 202 and have the shape of an annulus. The recess 203 mayaccommodate at least a portion of the treatment head 204 and provide apath for rotation of the treatment head 204. This arrangement may reducethe distance between the treatment head 204 and the axis 211 of the bore201 along the radial direction of the magnetic body 202. In someembodiments, the reduction of the distance between the treatment head204 and the axis 211 of the bore 201 may increase the radiation dosethat may reach the treatment region (e.g., a tumor) which leads to anenhancement in the therapeutic efficiency. In some embodiments, thewidth of the recess 203 along the Z direction (i.e., the axial directionof the magnetic body 202) may be no less than the width of the treatmenthead 204 along the Z direction.

It should be noted that the above description of the therapeuticapparatus 110 is merely provided for the purposes of illustration, andnot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For personshaving ordinary skills in the art, multiple variations and modificationsmay be made under the teachings of the present disclosure. For example,the assembly and/or function of the therapeutic apparatus 110 may varyor change according to a specific implementation scenario. In someembodiments, the magnetic body 202 of the MRI scanner 210 may alsorotate relative to the treatment head 204. For example, the radiationtherapy device 200 and the MRI scanner 210 may synchronously orasynchronously rotate around a same axis (e.g., the axis 211). However,those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or softwarecomponents of an exemplary computing device on which the processingdevice 120 may be implemented according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, a computing device 300 mayinclude a processor 310, a storage 320, an input/output (I/O) 330, and acommunication port 340.

The processor 310 may execute computer instructions (or program codes)and perform functions of the processing device 120 in accordance withtechniques described herein. The computer instructions may include, forexample, routines, programs, objects, components, signals, datastructures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particularfunctions described herein. For example, the processor 310 may processdata obtained from the therapeutic apparatus 110, the storage device140, one or more terminal devices 150, and/or any other component of theradiation therapy system 100. Specifically, the processor 310 mayprocess characteristics information of the subject to determine apreheating temperature of the immobilizing device. For example, theprocessor 310 may generate a control signal for applying the therapeuticradiation, and send the control signal to the radiation therapyapparatus. As another example, the processor 310 may performinstructions obtained from the terminal device(s) 150. In someembodiments, the processor 310 may include one or more hardwareprocessors, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a reducedinstruction set computer (RISC), an application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), an application-specific instruction-set processor(ASIP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a microcontroller unit, adigital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),an advanced RISC machine (ARM), a programmable logic device (PLD), anycircuit or processor capable of executing one or more functions, or thelike, or any combinations thereof.

Merely for illustration, only one processor is described in thecomputing device 300. However, it should be noted that the computingdevice 300 in the present disclosure may also include multipleprocessors. Thus operations and/or method steps that are performed byone processor as described in the present disclosure may also be jointlyor separately performed by the multiple processors. For example, if inthe present disclosure the processor of the computing device 300executes both operation A and operation B, it should be understood thatoperation A and operation B may also be performed by two or moredifferent processors jointly or separately in the computing device 300(e.g., a first processor executes operation A and a second processorexecutes operation B, or the first and second processors jointly executeoperations A and B).

The storage 320 may store data/information obtained from the therapeuticapparatus 110, the storage device 140, one or more terminal devices 150,the preheating system 160, and/or any other component of the radiationtherapy system 100. In some embodiments, the storage 320 may include amass storage device, a removable storage device, a volatileread-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like, or anycombination thereof. For example, the mass storage may include amagnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-state drive, etc. The removablestorage may include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, amemory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. The volatileread-and-write memory may include a random access memory (RAM). The RAMmay include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamicRAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and azero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. The ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM),a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (PEROM), anelectrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM(CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments,the storage 320 may store one or more programs and/or instructions toperform exemplary methods described in the present disclosure. Forexample, the storage 320 may store a program for the processing device120 for applying the therapeutic radiation.

The I/O 330 may input or output signals, data, and/or information. Insome embodiments, the I/O 330 may enable user interaction with theprocessing device 120. In some embodiments, the I/O 330 may include aninput device and an output device. Exemplary input devices may include akeyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, or the like, or acombination thereof. Exemplary output devices may include a displaydevice, a loudspeaker, a printer, a projector, or the like, or acombination thereof. Exemplary display devices may include a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED)-based display, aflat panel display, a curved screen, a television device, a cathode raytube (CRT), or the like, or a combination thereof.

The communication port 340 may be connected with a network (e.g., thenetwork 130) to facilitate data communications. The communication port340 may establish connections between the processing device 120 and thetherapeutic apparatus 110, the storage device 140, one or more terminaldevices 150, or the preheating system 160. The connection may be a wiredconnection, a wireless connection, or a combination of both that enablesdata transmission and reception. The wired connection may include anelectrical cable, an optical cable, a telephone wire, or the like, orany combination thereof. The wireless connection may include Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, WiMax, WLAN, ZigBee, mobile network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), orthe like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, thecommunication port 240 may be a standardized communication port, such asRS232, RS485, etc. In some embodiments, the communication port 340 maybe a specially designed communication port. For example, thecommunication port 340 may be designed in accordance with the digitalimaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) protocol.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or softwarecomponents of an exemplary mobile device according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a mobile device 400may include a communication platform 410, a display 420, a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU) 430, a central processing unit (CPU) 440, an I/O450, a memory 470, and storage 490. In some embodiments, any othersuitable component, including but not limited to a system bus or acontroller (not shown), may also be included in the mobile device 400.In some embodiments, a mobile operating system 460 (e.g., iOS, Android,Windows Phone, etc.) and one or more applications 480 may be loaded intothe memory 470 from the storage 390 in order to be executed by the CPU440. The applications 480 may include a browser or any other suitablemobile apps for receiving and rendering information relating to imageprocessing or other information from the processing device 120. Userinteractions with the information stream may be achieved via the I/O 450and provided to the processing device 120 and/or other components of theradiation therapy system 100 via the network 130.

To implement various modules, units, and their functionalities describedin the present disclosure, computer hardware platforms may be used asthe hardware platform(s) for one or more of the elements describedherein. The hardware elements, operating systems and programminglanguages of such computers are conventional in nature, and it ispresumed that those skilled in the art are adequately familiar therewithto adapt those technologies to generate an image as described herein. Acomputer with user interface elements may be used to implement apersonal computer (PC) or another type of work station or terminaldevice, although a computer may also act as a server if appropriatelyprogrammed. It is believed that those skilled in the art are familiarwith the structure, programming and general operation of such computerequipment and as a result, the drawings should be self-explanatory.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary immobilizingdevice according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In someembodiment, the immobilizing device 500 may be a heatable and moldablevacuum cushion. As shown in FIG. 5A, the immobilizing device 500 mayinclude a body 510, a lead wire 520 and a temperature controller 530.

There are multiple components or material layers disposed inside thebody 510. Merely for illustration, FIG. 5B illustrates a cross-sectionalview of a portion of a body of an exemplary immobilizing device (e.g.,the body 510 of the immobilizing device 500). As shown in FIG. 5B, thebody 510 may include a shell 512, a heating element 514 and a fillermaterial 516. In some embodiments, the shell 512 may be made from a softand flexible material, such as an air impermeable material, athermoplastic material, or a heat-resistant material. In someembodiments, the shell 512 may include a valve that is connectable to avacuum source (e.g., a vacuum compressor or a vacuum pump). The valve(not shown in FIG. 5B) may be installed on a top surface of the shell512. The valve may be used to inflate and deflate the vacuum cushion.For example, a partial vacuum may be created by evacuating air from thecushion through the valve using the vacuum pump. The cushion may bemolded around the subject's body contours and the remaining air may beevacuated through the valve. The molded vacuum cushion may be secured onthe top of supporting platform of the treatment table (e.g., thesupporting platform 208 shown in FIG. 2A). The mold vacuum cushion mayaccommodate the subject. In some embodiments, when the vacuum cushion ismolded for the first use, the vacuum cushion may keep the shape moldedin later use, in case that the vacuum cushion needed be moldedrepeatedly in later use. In some embodiments, the heating element 514may be attached to an inner side of the shell 512. The heating element514 may heat the vacuum cushion to a configured heating temperatureunder a heating voltage. The configured heating temperature may be thepreferable temperature for the subject. When the subject lies on theheated vacuum cushion, he/she would feel warm and comfortable althoughthe treatment environment is at a relatively low temperature. In someembodiments, the heating element 514 may be flexible and deformed withthe inflation and the deflation of the cushion. For example, the heatingelement 514 may be a flexible heating film. In some embodiments, theheating element 514 may not be allowed to interfere a radiation dose(e.g., a dose of X-rays) that the subject receives in case to cause apoor effect for the therapeutic radiation. In some cases, the heatingelement 514 may be not designed as a metallic heating element becausethe metallic element included in the metallic heating element interferesthe radiation beam. In some embodiments, the heating element 514 may bea flexible heating film that does not interfere a radiation beamgenerated by the radiation source. For example, the flexible heatingfilm may include a Carbon fiber heating film, or a Graphene heatingfilm, etc. In some embodiments, the heating element 514 may beelectrically connected to an electrical circuit. The electrical circuitmay be used to supply a heating voltage to the heating element 514 forpreheating the vacuum cushion. For example, the electrical circuit maybe included in or connected to the lead wire 520 shown in FIG. 5A. Thelead wire 520 may be operably connected to an external power sourcethrough a plug or a conductive interface. The power source may providethe heating voltage to the heating element 514 via the lead wire 520. Insome embodiments, the filler material 516 may be contained within aregion defined by the shell 512. For example, the filler material 516may be filled in the region under the shell 512 and the heating element514. The filler material 516 may include foam particles, sponge, cotton,or the like, or a combination thereof. The foam particles may includeone or more polymer materials such as resin, fiber, rubber, etc. Theresin may include phenolic, urea-formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde,epoxy, polyurethane, polyimide, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA),acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide, polylactic acid (PLA),polybenzimidazole (PBI), polycarbonate (PC), polyethersulfone (PES),polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyethylene (PE), polyphenylene oxide(PPO), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene(PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), etc. The sponge may include naturecellulose, foamed resin, etc. The foamed resin may include polyether,polyester, polyvinyl alcohol, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 5A, the body 510 may also include or be operablycoupled to a temperature sensor for detecting a heating temperature ofthe vacuum cushion in real time or near real time. In some embodiments,the temperature sensor (not shown in FIG. 5A) may be disposed in thebody 510. Exemplary temperature sensor may include a thermocouplesensor, a thermistor sensor, a resistance temperature detector (RTD), anIC temperature sensor, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the temperature sensor may communicate with atemperature controller (e.g., the temperature controller 530 shown inFIG. 5A). The temperature controller 530 may be configured to control orconfigure the heating temperature of the vacuum cushion. For example, auser may configure the preferable heating temperature for the subjectthrough an interface of the temperature controller 530 (e.g., a displayunit). When the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of thevacuum cushion arrives at the preferable heating temperature, thetemperature controller 530 may stop heating the vacuum cushion. Asanother example, the temperature controller 530 may receive a preheatinginstruction from the preheating system 160 via the network 130. Inresponse to the preheating instruction, the temperature controller 530may be used to automatically preheat the vacuum cushion. It should benoted that the immobilizing device 500 need to be electrically connectedto the power source before the preheating. The preheating instructionmay include one or more preheating parameters, such as a heatingtemperature, a preheating start time, a preheating end time, a heatingvoltage, and so on. In some embodiments, the temperature controller 530may be powered by the power source via the lead wire 520.

In some embodiments, the temperature controller 530 may have atemperature memory function for recording a previously configuredpreferable temperature for the subject. For example, the temperaturecontroller 530 may include a temperature memory unit. The temperaturememory unit may record the previously configured preferable temperature.The temperature controller 530 may directly configure the recordedpreferable temperature as the heating temperature of the vacuum cushion.There is no need to reconfigure the heating temperature of the vacuumcushion when preheating the vacuum cushion again, which may savepreheating time and improve a treatment efficiency of the radiationtherapy system to some extent.

Merely for illustration, assuming that the preferable heatingtemperature of a subject is 25 degrees Celsius, the temperaturecontroller 530 may be configured to set 24 degrees Celsius as theheating temperature of the vacuum cushion of the subject when firstpreheating the vacuum cushion. The temperature memory unit may recordthe first configured heating temperature, that is, 25 degrees Celsius.When preheating the vacuum cushion in later treatment process, thetemperature controller 530 may directly configure 25 degrees Celsius asthe heating temperature of the vacuum cushion instead of artificialconfiguration operation.

In some embodiments, the immobilizing device 500 may be preheated by thepreheating system 160 or the therapeutic apparatus 110. The preheatingsystem 160 may be separated from the therapeutic apparatus 110. Forexample, the preheating system 160 may receive a preheating request forthe immobilizing device 500. In response to the preheating request, thepreheating system 160 may perform one or more preheating operations forthe immobilizing device 500, for example, determining a preheating time,determining a preferable temperature according to a predictive model orby setting manually, and so on. After the immobilizing device 500 may bepreheated to the preferable temperature, the subject or the technicianmay carry the preheated immobilizing device to the treatment room wheretherapeutic apparatus 110 is, and mount the preheated immobilizingdevice on the supporting platform 208 of the treatment table 230. Thesubject may be secured on the preheated vacuum cushion to receive thetreatment. As another example, the immobilizing device 500 may bedirectly preheated through the therapeutic apparatus 110. Theimmobilizing device 500 that is not be preheated may be mounted on thesupporting platform 208 of the treatment table 230. The therapeuticapparatus 110 may be configured to configure the preheating parametersof the immobilizing device 500. Then the therapeutic apparatus 110 maybegin to preheat the immobilizing device 500 according to the preheatingparameters. After completing the preheating, the subject may lie on thepreheated vacuum cushion to receive the treatment. In some embodiments,the preheating system 160 or the therapeutic apparatus 110 may beconfigured to preheat the vacuum cushion according to a predictivemodel. The predictive model may be used to output a recommendedpreheating temperature for the subject. The vacuum cushion may bepreheated to the recommended temperature. More descriptions of thepredictive model may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g.,FIGS. 8-9, and the description thereof).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for applying atherapeutic radiation in a radiation therapy system according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, one or moreoperations of process 600 illustrated in FIG. 6 may be implemented inthe radiation therapy system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, theprocess 600 illustrated in FIG. 6 may be stored in the storage device140 in the form of instructions, and invoked and/or executed by theprocessing device 120 (e.g., the processor 310 of the computing device300 as illustrated in FIG. 3, the GPU 430 or CPU 440 of the mobiledevice 400 as illustrated in FIG. 4).

In 602, characteristics information of a subject may be obtained. Forexample, the processing device 120 may obtain the characteristicsinformation of the subject from a storage device (e.g., the storagedevice 140). In some embodiments, the subject may be a human patient. Insome embodiments, the characteristics information of the subject mayinclude a height, a weight, an age, a gender, a lesion, radiationparameters (e.g., a dose of X rays, a field width, a pitch, a modulationfactor, etc.), or the like, or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, the characteristics information may be included in aradiation therapy planning protocol regarding the subject. Beforeperforming the therapeutic radiation, the radiation therapy planningprotocol may be input to the radiation therapy system 100 via an I/Ocomponent (e.g., the I/O 330 shown in FIG. 3). The radiation therapyplanning protocol may be stored in the storage device 140. Theprocessing device 120 may parse the radiation therapy planning protocolto obtain the characteristics information of the subject. In someembodiments, the characteristics information of the subject may beincluded in a preheating request sent by the terminal device 150. Theprocessing device 120 may parse the preheating request to obtain thecharacteristics information of the subject.

In 604, an immobilizing device (e.g., the immobilizing device 500 shownin FIG. 5A) may be preheated according to a predictive model thatprocesses the characteristics information of the subject. In someembodiments, one or more preheating operations may be performed by apreheating system (e.g., the preheating system 160) or a therapeuticapparatus (e.g., the therapeutic apparatus 110 of the radiation therapysystem 100).

Before the radiation therapy treatment, the immobilizing device may bepreheated to a preferable temperature for the subject so that thesubject may feel comfortable in the relatively low-temperature treatmentroom when the subject is secured on the preheated immobilizing device.Specifically, the processing device 120 may obtain the predictive modelfrom the storage device 140. The predictive model may be used to outputa recommended heating temperature by processing the characteristicsinformation of the subject. The processing device 120 may determine therecommended heating temperature for the subject based on the predictivemodel. In some embodiments, the preheating system 160 may obtain therecommended heating temperature from the processing device 120 via thenetwork 130. The preheating system 160 may preheat the immobilizingdevice to the recommended heating temperature. After completing thepreheating operation, the preheated immobilizing device may be mountedon the supporting platform of the treatment table of the therapeuticapparatus 110. At least one portion of the ROI of the subject may bepositioned or immobilized by the preheated immobilizing device. Acorresponding therapeutic radiation may be applied to the at least oneportion of the subject. In some embodiments, the therapeutic apparatus110 may directly preheat the immobilizing device. For example, theimmobilizing device may be mounted on the supporting platform of thetreatment table of the therapeutic apparatus 110 before the preheating.The therapeutic apparatus 110 may obtain the recommended heatingtemperature from the processing device 120 via the network. Thetherapeutic apparatus 110 may preheat the immobilizing device to therecommended heating temperature. After the completing the preheatingoperation, the subject may lie on the preheated immobilizing device towait for a corresponding therapeutic radiation. At least one portion ofthe ROI of the subject may be positioned or immobilized by the preheatedimmobilizing device. In some embodiments, the therapeutic apparatus 110may preheat the immobilizing device to a specified temperature. Thespecified temperature may be equal to or different from the recommendedheating temperature. For example, assume that the specified temperatureis lower than the recommended heating temperature, when the immobilizingdevice is preheated to the specific temperature, the therapeuticapparatus 110 (e.g., the radiation therapy device 200 in the therapeuticapparatus 110) may be configured to prepare a preliminary workflow(e.g., parameters setting for radiation therapy) before the immobilizingcomponent is preheated to the recommended heating temperature. The timeof the entire radiation therapy may be shortened to some extent.

In some embodiments, the predictive model may be generated by trainingan initial model using a machine learning algorithm. For example, theprocessing device 120 may obtain a set of training data (also referredto herein as a training set) from a database (e.g., the storage device140). The database may record information regarding a plurality ofsubjects receiving the therapeutic radiation, such as characteristicsinformation of the plurality of subjects, preheating data of theimmobilizing devices corresponding to the plurality of subjects. Theobtained training set may include labeled historical preheating data ofthe immobilizing components corresponding to the plurality of subjectsand the characteristics of the plurality of subjects. The processingdevice 120 may train the initial model based on the training data.During the training, the processing device 120 may iteratively updateparameters of the initial model by minimizing a loss function of theinitial model. If the loss function is convergent or a training lossvalue of the loss function is less than or equal to a threshold, theprocessing device 120 may determine the predictive model, and terminatethe training process. The trained predictive model may be used todetermine a recommended heating temperature by processing thecharacteristics information of a current subject. In some embodiments,the trained predictive model may be stored in the storage device 140.More descriptions of the generation of the predictive model may be foundelsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 8-9, and thedescriptions thereof).

In 606, a control signal may be sent to the therapeutic apparatus (e.g.,the therapeutic apparatus 110) for applying the therapeutic radiation tothe at least one portion of the ROI immobilized by the preheatedimmobilizing component.

As described above, the preheated immobilizing device (e.g., a preheatedvacuum cushion) may be mounted on the supporting platform of thetreatment table of the therapeutic apparatus. The subject may be placedon the preheated immobilizing device, and at least one portion of theROI of the subject may be immobilized by the preheated immobilizingdevice. The therapeutic apparatus (e.g., the radiation therapy device200 in the therapeutic apparatus 110) may receive a control signal toapply the therapeutic radiation. In some embodiments, the control signalmay be generated by the processing device 120. For example, theprocessing device 120 may generate the control signal in response to theimmobilizing device being preheated to the preferable temperature. Asanother example, the control signal may be determined based on an imageregarding the at least one portion of the ROI. More descriptionsregarding the determining the control signal based on the image of theat least one portion of the ROI may be found elsewhere in the presentdisclosure. See, FIG. 7 and the descriptions thereof. In someembodiments, the control signal may be inputted by a user (e.g., adoctor) through the terminal device 150. For example, the user may pressa button for controlling the therapeutic apparatus to apply thetherapeutic radiation to the at least one portion of the ROI. In someembodiments, the control signal may include parameters associated withthe therapeutic radiation on a lesion (e.g., a tumor). For example, thecontrol signal may include the dosage of X-rays and a duration of theradiation beam. As another example, the control signal may includeparameters of the multi-leaf collimator (MLC) that determines the shapeof the radiation beam projected on the subject. The MLC may include aplurality of individual leaves of high atomic numbered materials (e.g.,tungsten) moving in and out of the path of the radiation beam. Themovement of some or all of the plurality of leaves may be independentfrom each other. In some embodiments, the control signal may includeparameters associated with movements of one or more components of aradiation therapy apparatus. For example, the control signal may includea parameter associated with one or more positions of a radiation sourceof the radiation therapy apparatus (e.g., the radiation therapyapparatus in the therapeutic apparatus 110). As another example, thecontrol signal may include a parameter associated with a height or aposition of a platform of the radiation therapy apparatus (e.g., alocation of the supporting platform 208 of the treatment table 230 alongan axis of the magnetic body 202) to properly position a patient so thatthe treatment region (e.g., a cancerous tumor) in the patient mayproperly receive the radiation beam from the radiation therapyapparatus.

Upon receipt of the control signal, the therapeutic apparatus (e.g., theradiation therapy device 200 in the therapeutic apparatus 110) may applythe therapeutic radiation to the at least one portion of the ROI. Duringa therapeutic radiation session, one or more components of the radiationtherapy device may coordinate to deliver the therapeutic radiation. Forinstance, the radiation source of the radiation therapy device 200 mayrotate; alternatively or additionally, the radiation therapy session mayproceed according to a collection of parameters including, e.g., thedosage of X-rays, the duration of a radiation beam from a radiationsource, the shape of the MLC, and the position of the platform, etc.,that change over time cooperatively. In some embodiments, the radiationbeam may be emitted only when the radiation source of the radiationtherapy device rotates to certain angles (e.g., 60 degrees, 120 degrees,180 degrees, 240 degrees, 300 degrees, 360 degrees). For example, anintensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) may be applied. Theradiation source may stop rotating intermittently. The radiation sourcemay rotate to a desired position, pause there, emit a radiation beam fora specific duration, and then resume to rotate. In some embodiments, theradiation source may rotate continuously, and emit a radiation beamcontinuously or intermittently. In some embodiments, the radiationsource may continuously emit the radiation beam while rotating.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations or modifications may be made under the teachings ofthe present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,operations 602 and 604 may be integrated to a single operation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for generating acontrol signal for applying a therapeutic radiation in a radiationtherapy system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.In some embodiments, one or more operations of process 700 illustratedin FIG. 7 may be implemented in the radiation therapy system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the process 700 illustrated in FIG.7 may be stored in the storage device 140 in the form of instructions,and invoked and/or executed by the processing device 120 (e.g., theprocessor 310 of the computing device 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3, theGPU 430 or CPU 440 of the mobile device 400 as illustrated in FIG. 4).

In 702, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) mayacquire image data (e.g., MRI data) with respect to a region of interest(ROI) by an imaging device (e.g., the MRI scanner 210). For example, theMRI data may be MR signals received by an RF coil from a subject. Insome embodiments, an ROI may refer to a treatment region associated witha lesion (e.g., a tumor). The treatment region may be a region of asubject (e.g., a body, a substance, an object). In some embodiments, theROI may be a specific portion of a body, a specific organ, or a specifictissue, such as head, brain, neck, body, shoulder, arm, thorax, cardiac,stomach, blood vessel, soft tissue, knee, feet, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

In 704, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) mayreconstruct an image (e.g., an MRI image) regarding the at least oneportion of the ROI based on the acquired image data (e.g., the MRIdata). For example, the MRI image may be reconstructed illustrating adistribution of atomic nuclei inside the subject based on the MRI data.Different kinds of imaging reconstruction techniques for the imagereconstruction procedure may be employed. Exemplary image reconstructiontechniques may include Fourier reconstruction, constrained imagereconstruction, regularized image reconstruction in parallel MRI, or thelike, or a variation thereof, or any combination thereof.

The reconstructed image (e.g., the MRI image) may be used to determinetherapeutic radiation to a lesion (e.g., a tumor). For example, theprocessing device 120 may determine the position of the tumor and thedose of radiation according to the MRI image. In some embodiments, itmay take at least several minutes to reconstruct an MRI imagerepresenting a large imaging region. In some embodiments, in order togenerate the MRI image during a relatively short time period (e.g.,every second), the processing device 120 may reconstruct an initialimage representing a smaller imaging region (e.g., at least one portionof the ROI) as opposed to the MRI image representing a large imagingregion, and then combine the initial image with the MRI imagerepresenting a large imaging region. For example, the processing device120 may replace a portion of the MRI image representing a large imagingregion related to the ROI with the initial image. The MRI imagerepresenting a large imaging region may include information of non-ROI(e.g., a healthy tissue) near the ROI and that of the ROI. In someembodiments, the MRI image representing a large imaging region may beacquired and reconstructed before a session of the radiotherapy starts.For example, the MRI image representing a large imaging region may beacquired less than 1 day, or half a day, or 6 hours, or 3 hours, or 1hour, or 45 minutes, or 30 minutes, or 20 minutes, or 15 minutes, or 10minutes, or 5 minutes, etc., before the radiation source starts emittinga radiation beam for treatment. In some embodiments, the MRI imagerepresenting a large imaging region may be obtained from a storagedevice in the radiation therapy system 100, such as the storage device140.

In 706, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) maydetermine a parameter associated with a size of the at least one portionof the ROI based on the reconstructed image (e.g., the MRI image). Insome embodiments, the parameter associated with a size of the at leastone portion of the ROI may include the size of a characteristic crosssection of a lesion (e.g., a tumor) and is perpendicular to thedirection of the radiation beams impinging on the at least one portionof the ROI. As used herein, a characteristic cross section of a lesionmay be a cross section of the lesion, among cross sections of the lesionthat are parallel to each other, whose area is the largest. In someembodiments, the ROI or a portion thereof may substantially conform tothe characteristic cross section of the lesion. For instance, for an ROIhaving the shape of a circle, the diameter of the ROI may be the same asor slightly (e.g., no more than 5%, or 10%, or 15%, or 20%, or 25%, or30%, or 40%, or 50%) larger than the largest dimension of thecharacteristic cross section of the lesion. As another example, for anROI having the shape of an ellipse or a polygon (e.g., a square, arectangle, etc.), the area of the ROI may be the same as or slightly(e.g., no more than 5%, or 10%, or 15%, or 20%, or 25%, or 30%, or 40%,or 50%) larger than the area of the characteristic cross section of thelesion.

In some embodiments, the parameter associated with a size of the atleast one portion of the ROI may indicate the shape of thecharacteristic cross section of the tumor. For example, the parameterassociated with a size of at least one portion of the ROI may indicatethat the shape of the cross section of the tumor is a circle or anapproximate circle, and further indicate the diameter of the circle orthe approximate circle. In some embodiments, to determine the parameterassociated with a size of at least one portion of the ROI, theprocessing device 120 may extract texture information from the MRIimage, and determine texture features that are indicative of the ROI byidentifying frequent texture patterns of the ROI in the extractedtexture information. Then, the processing device 120 may measure thesize of the region which includes the texture features in the MRI image,and determine the parameter associated with the size of the ROI.

In 708, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) maygenerate a control signal according to the parameter associated with thesize of at least one portion of the ROI. In some embodiments, thecontrol signal may be dynamically adjusted based on the plurality of MRIimages taken at different time points. As described in connection withoperation 606, the control signal may include parameters associated withthe therapeutic radiation on the tumor. For example, the control signalmay include the dosage of X-rays and a duration of the radiation beam.As another example, the control signal may include parameters of themulti-leaf collimator (MLC) that determines the shape of the radiationbeam projected on the subject. The MLC may include a plurality ofindividual leaves of high atomic numbered materials (e.g., tungsten)moving in and out of the path of the radiation beam. The movement ofsome or all of the plurality of leaves may be independent from eachother. In some embodiments, the control signal may include parametersassociated with movements of one or more components of a radiationtherapy apparatus. For example, the control signal may include aparameter associated with one or more positions of a radiation source ofthe radiation therapy apparatus (e.g., the radiation therapy device 200in the therapeutic apparatus 110). As another example, the controlsignal may include a parameter associated with a height or a position ofa platform of the radiation therapy apparatus (e.g., a location of thesupporting platform 208 of the treatment table 230 along an axis of themagnetic body 202) to properly position a patient so that the treatmentregion (e.g., a cancerous tumor) in the patient may properly receive theradiation beam from the radiation therapy apparatus. In someembodiments, the generated control signal may be sent to the therapeuticapparatus for applying the therapeutic radiation to the at least oneportion of the ROI.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations or modifications may be made under the teachings ofthe present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,operations 702 and 704 may be integrated to a single operation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for generating apredictive model according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, one or more operations of process 800illustrated in FIG. 8 may be implemented in the radiation therapy system100 illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the process 800 illustrated inFIG. 8 may be stored in the storage device 140 in the form ofinstructions, and invoked and/or executed by the processing device 120(e.g., the processor 310 of the computing device 300 as illustrated inFIG. 3, the GPU 430 or CPU 440 of the mobile device 400 as illustratedin FIG. 4).

In 802, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) mayobtain, from a database, a set of training data including labeledhistorical preheating data of the immobilizing components correspondingto a plurality of subjects and the characteristics of the plurality ofsubjects.

In some embodiments, the set of training data (also referred as thetraining set) may be associated with a plurality of samples. As usedherein, a sample may be also referred to as a subject receivingtherapeutic therapy in a historical period (e.g., a month, a quarter, ayear, two years, etc.). In some embodiments, immobilizing devicescorresponding to the plurality of samples may be preheated. Each of theplurality of sample may have his/her own immobilizing device forimmobilizing at least one portion of ROI. The preheating data of theimmobilizing devices corresponding to the plurality of samples may bestored in the database (e.g., the storage device 140). The preheatingdata may include a heating temperature, a preheating start time, apreheating end time, a heating voltage, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the characteristics information of theplurality of samples may be stored in the database (e.g., the storagedevice 140). The characteristics information may include a height, aweight, an age, a gender, a lesion, radiation parameters (e.g., a dosageof X rays, a field width, a pitch, a modulation factor, etc.), or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the preheatingdata and the characteristics information regarding the plurality ofsamples may be labeled. The labeled preheating data and labeledcharacteristics information may be designated as the training set.

In 804, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) mayobtain an initial model. The initial model may be a machine learningmodel. In some embodiments, the machine learning model may be stored ina storage device as an application or a part thereof. The machinelearning model may be constructed based on at least one of aconvolutional machine learning model (CNN), a fully convolutional neuralnetwork (FCN) model, a generative adversarial network (GAN), a backpropagation (BP) machine learning model, a radial basis function (RBF)machine learning model, a deep belief nets (DBN) machine learning model,a long short-term memory (LSTM) model, an Elman machine learning model,or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, themachine learning model may include multiple layers, for example, aninput layer, multiple hidden layers, and an output layer. The multiplehidden layers may include one or more convolutional layers, one or morepooling layers, one or more batch normalization layers, one or moreactivation layers, one or more fully connected layers, a cost functionlayer, etc. Each of the multiple layers may include a plurality ofnodes. The machine learning model may be trained to take characteristicsof the subject as an input and a heating temperature as an output. Theoutput temperature may be designated as a recommended heatingtemperature of the immobilizing device.

In 806, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) maytrain the initial model based on the training data.

The training data may be taken as input of the initial model. During thetraining, the processing device 120 may iteratively update parameters byminimizing a loss function of the initial model (as illustrated in 808).The loss function may measure how far away an output solution is from anoptimal solution. In some embodiments, the loss function may include asquare loss function, a logistic loss function, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the loss function may alsoinclude a regularization term, for example, L1 norm, or L2 norm. Forexample, the loss function may be a combination of a square lossfunction and the regularization term. As another example, the lossfunction may be a combination of logistic loss function and theregularization term. The processing device 120 may optimize a trainingloss of the loss function to generate a predictive model. In eachtraining round (or each iteration process), the processing device 120may update the parameters of the model by using a stochastic gradientdescent (SGD) algorithm.

In 810, the processing device (e.g., the processing device 120) maydetermine the predictive model. In some embodiments, when the trainingloss of the loss function is less than or equal to a threshold, theprocessing device 120 may terminate the training, and determine thecurrent model as the optimal predictive model. In other words, theparameters of the current model may be designated as the parameters ofthe optimal predictive model. In some embodiments, when the trainingloss of the loss function is convergent, for example, the training losskeeps a constant, the processing device 120 may terminate the training,and determine the current model as the optimal predictive model. In someembodiments, when the number of training rounds (or counts ofiterations) is equal to a maximum value (e.g., 50, 100, 150, etc.), theprocessing device 120 may also terminate the training, and determine thecurrent model as the optimal predictive model. It should be noted thatan accuracy of the predictive model may be equal to or greater than anaccuracy threshold (e.g., 80%, 85%, 90%, etc.). The accuracy of thepredictive model may be measured by verifying a test set. The test setis similar to the training set. The test set may include labeledhistorical preheating data of the immobilizing devices corresponding toa plurality of subjects and the characteristics of the plurality ofsubjects. In the verification of the test set, if the accuracy of thepredictive model is not satisfied, the processing device 120 maycontinue to train the model by adjusting parameters of the predictivemodel until the accuracy is equal to or greater than the accuracythreshold.

Merely for illustration, the initial model may be the CNN model. FIG. 9illustrates an exemplary convolutional neural network (CNN) modelaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 9, CNN model 900 may include an input layer 920, hidden layers 940,and an output layer 960. The multiple hidden layers 940 may include oneor more convolutional layers, one or more Rectified Linear Units layers(ReLU layers), one or more pooling layers, one or more fully connectedlayers, or the like, or a combination thereof.

As used herein, a layer of a model may refer to an algorithm or afunction for processing input data of the layer. Different layers mayperform different kinds of processing on their respective input. Asuccessive layer may use output data from a previous layer of thesuccessive layer as input data. In some embodiments, each of the layermay include one or more nodes (e.g., neural units). In some embodiments,each node may be connected to one or more nodes in a previous layer. Thenumber of nodes in each layer may be the same or different. In someembodiments, each node may correspond to an activation function. As usedherein, an activation function of a node may define an output of thenode given an input or a set of inputs. The activation function mayinclude a sigmoid function, a tanh function, a ReLU function, an ELUfunction, a PReLU function, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the plurality of nodes may be configured to processinput vector(s). In a neural network model, a node may refer to a neuralunit. For example, a neural unit may output a value according toEquation (1) as follows:

f _(output) =f(Σ_(i) w _(i) x _(i) +b)   (1),

where f_(output) denotes an output value of a neural unit, f(·) denotesan activation function, w_(i) demotes a weight corresponding to anelement of an input vector, x_(i) denotes an element of an input vector,and b denotes a bias term corresponding to the input vector. The weightsand the bias terms may be parameters of the CNN model. In someembodiments, the weights and the bias terms may be iteratively updatedbased on the SGD algorithm.

For illustration purposes, as shown in FIG. 9, exemplary hidden layers940 of the CNN model 900, including a convolutional layer 940-1, apooling layer 940-2, and a fully connected layer 940-N, are illustrated.As described in connection with process 800, the processing device 120may acquire the training set as an input of the input layer 920. Theinput training data may be in the form of a vector. The convolutionallayer 940-1 may include a plurality of convolutional kernels (e.g., A,B, C, and D). For example, the number of the plurality of convolutionalkernels may be in a range from 16 to 64, for example, 32. The pluralityof convolutional kernels may be used to perform convolutional operationfor outputs from a previous layer (e.g., the input layer 920). In someembodiments, each of the plurality of convolutional kernels may filter aportion (e.g., a region) of the input vector to achieve datadimensionality reduction.

The pooling layer 940-2 may take the output of the convolutional layer940-1 as an input. The pooling layer 940-2 may include a plurality ofpooling nodes (e.g., E, F, G, and H). Each of the plurality of poolingnodes may perform a pooling operation for its inputs, such as a maxpooling, an average pooling or L2-norm pooling. For example, theplurality of pooling nodes may be used to sample the output of theconvolutional layer 940-1, and thus may reduce the computational load ofdata processing and increase the speed of data processing of theradiation therapy system 100.

The fully connected layer 940-N may include a plurality of neural units(e.g., O, P, M, and N). The plurality of neural units in the fullyconnected layer 940-N may have full connections to all activations inthe previous layer, and output a vector. The output layer 960 maydetermine an output based on the output vector of the fully connectedlayer 940-N and the corresponding weights and bias terms obtained in thefully connected layer 940-N. The output value may be designated as areference of the preheating temperature of the immobilizing device.

In some embodiments, the processing device 120 may get access tomultiple processing units, such as GPUs, in the radiation therapy system100. The multiple processing units may perform parallel processing insome layers of the CNN model. The parallel processing may be performedin such a manner that the calculations of different nodes in a layer ofthe CNN model may be assigned to two or more processing units. Forexample, one GPU may run the calculations corresponding to kernels A andB, and the other GPU(s) may run the calculations corresponding tokernels C and D in the convolutional layer 940-1. Similarly, thecalculations corresponding to different nodes in other type of layers inthe CNN model may be performed in parallel by the multiple GPUs.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by the present disclosure,and are within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “unit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what is currently considered to be avariety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appendedclaims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on thecontrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments. For example, although the implementation of variouscomponents described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it mayalso be implemented as a software only solution, for example, aninstallation on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various inventive embodiments. Thismethod of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed subject matter requires more features thanare expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventive embodiments liein less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or propertiesused to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,”“approximate,” or “substantially.” For example, “about,” “approximate,”or “substantially” may indicate ±20% variation of the value itdescribes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the numerical parameters set forth in the written description andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. Insome embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in lightof the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges andparameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of theapplication are approximations, the numerical values set forth in thespecific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patentapplications, and other material, such as articles, books,specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like,referenced herein is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in itsentirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file historyassociated with same, any of same that is inconsistent with or inconflict with the present document, or any of same that may have alimiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or laterassociated with the present document. By way of example, should there beany inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition,and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporatedmaterial and that associated with the present document, the description,definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shallprevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theapplication disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of theembodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employedmay be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, butnot of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of theapplication may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein.Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited tothat precisely as shown and described.

1. A radiation therapy system comprising: a therapeutic apparatus,wherein the therapeutic apparatus includes a radiation source fordirecting therapeutic radiation to at least one portion of a region ofinterest (ROI) of a subject, and an immobilizing device for immobilizingthe subject; at least one storage device storing executableinstructions; and at least one processing device in communication withthe therapeutic apparatus and the at least one storage device, whenexecuting the executable instructions, the at least one processingdevice causing the system to: obtain characteristics information of thesubject; preheat the immobilizing device according to a predictive modelthat processes the characteristics information of the subject; andcontrol the therapeutic apparatus to apply the therapeutic radiation tothe at least one portion of the ROI immobilized by the preheatedimmobilizing device when the immobilizing device is preheated to acertain temperature.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the therapeuticapparatus further includes a supporting platform, and the preheatedimmobilizing device is operably connected to the supporting platform. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the immobilizing device includes a vacuumcushion, the vacuum cushion further including: a shell installed with avalve that is connectable to a vacuum source; a heating element attachedto an inner side of the shell; an electrical circuit electricallyconnected to the heating element, wherein the electrical circuitsupplies a heating voltage to the heating element for preheating thevacuum cushion; and a filler material contained within a region definedby the shell.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the heating elementincludes a flexible heating film.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein theflexible heating film includes a Carbon fiber heating film.
 6. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the flexible heating film includes a Grapheneheating film.
 7. The system of claim 3, wherein the immobilizing devicefurther includes a temperature sensor for detecting a heatingtemperature of the vacuum cushion.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein theelectrical circuit is connected to a temperature controller for controlof the heating temperature of the vacuum cushion, and the temperaturecontroller has a temperature memory function for recording a previouslyconfigured preferable temperature for the subject, and directlyconfigures the recorded preferable temperature as the heatingtemperature of the vacuum cushion.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to cause the system to:generate, based on historical preheating data of one or more sampleimmobilizing devices corresponding to a plurality of sample subjects andcharacteristics of the plurality of sample subjects, the predictivemodel by training an initial model.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinto generate the predictive model, the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to cause the system to: obtain, from a database, a set oftraining data including labeled historical preheating data of the one ormore sample immobilizing devices corresponding to the plurality ofsample subjects and the characteristics of the plurality of samplesubjects; and train the initial model based on the training data, thetraining including: updating parameters of the initial model byminimizing a loss function of the initial model; and determining thepredictive model if the a value of the loss function is less than orequal to a threshold.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the predictivemodel includes a convolutional neural network (CNN) model. 12-13.(canceled)
 14. A therapeutic apparatus comprising: an imaging deviceconfigured to acquire image data with respect to a region of interest(ROI) of a subject; a radiation therapy device configured to applytherapeutic radiation to at least one portion of the ROI in response toa control signal, wherein the control signal is generated according tothe acquired image data; and an immobilizing device configured toimmobilize the at least one portion of the ROI, wherein the immobilizingdevice is preheated to a certain temperature before the therapeuticradiation.
 15. (canceled)
 16. The therapeutic apparatus of claim 14,wherein the immobilizing device includes a vacuum cushion, the vacuumcushion further including: a shell installed with a valve that isconnectable to a vacuum source; a heating element attached to an innerside of the shell; an electrical circuit electrically connected to theheating element, wherein the electrical circuit supplies a heatingvoltage to the heating element for preheating the vacuum cushion; and afiller material contained within a region defined by the shell.
 17. Thetherapeutic apparatus of claim 16, wherein the heating element includesa flexible heating film that does not interfere a radiation beamgenerated by the radiation source. 18-19. (canceled)
 20. The therapeuticapparatus of claim 16, wherein the immobilizing device further includesa temperature sensor for detecting a heating temperature of the vacuumcushion.
 21. The therapeutic apparatus of claim 20, wherein theelectrical circuit is connected to a temperature controller for controlof the heating temperature of the vacuum cushion, and the temperaturecontroller has a temperature memory function for recording a previouslyconfigured preferable temperature for the subject, and directlyconfigures the recorded preferable temperature as the heatingtemperature of the vacuum cushion.
 22. The therapeutic apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the immobilizing device is preheated according to apredictive model that processes characteristics information of thesubject. 23-24. (canceled)
 25. The therapeutic apparatus of claim 14,wherein the control signal is generated according to the acquired imagedata further includes: reconstructing an image regarding the at leastone portion of the ROI based on the acquired image data; determining aparameter associated with a size of the at least one portion of the ROIbased on the reconstructed image; and generating the control signalaccording to the parameter associated with the size of the at least oneportion of the ROI.
 26. An immobilizing device comprising a vacuumcushion, the vacuum cushion comprising: a shell installed with a valvethat is connectable to a vacuum source; a heating element attached to aninner side of the shell; an electrical circuit electrically connected tothe heating element, wherein the electrical circuit supplies a heatingvoltage to the heating element for preheating the vacuum cushion; and afiller material contained within a region defined by the shell. 27-30.(canceled)
 31. The immobilizing device of claim 30, wherein theelectrical circuit is connected to a temperature controller for controlof a heating temperature of the vacuum cushion, and the temperaturecontroller has a temperature memory function for recording a previouslyconfigured preferable temperature for the a subject, and directlyconfigures the recorded preferable temperature as the heatingtemperature of the vacuum cushion.